In order to keep as many cell phones out of landfills as it can, eRecyclingCorps not only makes recycling easy, it makes it worthwhile by offering rewards. The company has formed partnerships with Sprint and Verizon Wireless to create “incentivized recycling” for unused wireless devices. Customers can take their unwanted cell phones into participating retail stores and receive compensation, discounts, and other rewards. For devices that are beyond repair and reuse, eRecyclingCorps properly disposes of cell phone internal components, making sure nothing ends up in a landfill. Its in store trade-in programs use a web-based platform that is integrated into store’s point of sale systems.

“In a very short period of time, we have grown this business from nothing to a company that is currently doing tens of millions of dollars a year in revenue through enabling carriers to participate in very dynamic recycling programs that make it very easy for the consumer and very easy for our carrier partners to execute the programs” said eRecyclingCorps CEO David Edmondson in an interview, “We are going to continue to expand the service to other carrier partners in North America and the first part of 2012 will be spent focusing on expanding into Europe.”

The funding eRecyclingCorps has received will be used to expand its recycling programs on an international level, especially in developing countries. It hopes to reduce e-waste worldwide and continue to supply high quality refurbished devices.

eRecyclingCorps was founded in 2009 by former RadioShack and Sprint PCS CEOs, David Edmondson and Ron LeMay. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers joins OpenAir Equity Partners and SJF Ventures as funding partners of eRecyclingCorps. eRecyclingCorps currently handles 2.5 million wireless device trade-ins per year worldwide.